Pandora Hearts
Pandora Hearts (パンドラハーツ''Pandora Hātsu'' ?) is a manga series by Jun Mochizuki. It began serialization in the shōnen magazine GFantasy published by Square Enix in June 2006 and completed its run in April 2015 with a total of 104 chapters collected in twenty-four volumes. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Broccoli Books but was later dropped and later licensed by Yen Press. An anime was produced by Xebec in 2009 and ran for twenty-five episodes. On February 11, 2010, NIS America announced that it would release the anime of Pandora Hearts in North America. The series also had 9 OVA's (3 minute per episode), which aired from July 24, 2009 to March 25, 2010. Plot Oz Vessalius, one of the Heirs of the Four Dukedoms, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he is cast into the prison known as the "Abyss," only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the Bloodstained Black Rabbit or B-Rabbit for short. The mystery begins there as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization known as Pandora. The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and can be considered both fantasy and mystery. Terminology Chain (チェイン Chein) Beings born from the Abyss that were at one point human, transformed by the Abyss. They must sign a contract with a human in order to leave the Abyss. Chains involved in illegal contracts must repeatedly consume humans in order to sustain themselves. The chain is bound to the contractor and can be called out at will. In return, the contractor provides passage for the chain out of the Abyss. Occasionally, a rare side-effect of making a contract with a chain gives the contractor the ability to never physically age again, although their mind and body still deteriorate in certain ways, and they can still die of natural causes such as old age. In illegal contracts, a clock-like seal appears on the Contractor's body, over their heart. Each time the chain's powers are drawn upon, the hand on the seal moves like on a clock. Once the hand makes one full rotation, both the contractor and the chain are dragged into the deepest level of the Abyss. Contractor (契約者 Keiyakusha) A human who makes a contract with chains. There are certain procedures to making a contract, but impromptu contracts can also be made, although they are "illegal." Abyss (アヴィス Avisu) The dimension from which chains come. It exists separately from the regular world, and there, time flows differently. A person can find themselves in any random time period upon exiting the Abyss. The appearance of the Abyss is somewhat like that of a broken toy box. Intention of the Abyss (アヴィスの意志 Avisu no Ishi) The existence that governs the Abyss. She can appear in the form of a white rabbit doll covered in blood with big round eyes. The true form of the Intention resembles Alice, but she has white hair, lavender-colored eyes, and wears a white dress. The Intention of the Abyss and Alice are twin sisters; both conceived in the regular world, and born in the Abyss as well sharing the name Alice. Four Great Dukedoms (四大公爵家 Yondai Koushaku Ke) Consisting of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma families, although these four houses had been in existence well before the Tragedy of Sablier, they only rose to prominence after the Tragedy, filling the vacuum left by the defeated Baskerville family. Together they founded the organization Pandora to help deal with issues regarding the Abyss, effectively forming the country's government. Each family owns a single Door to the Abyss, the sources of their great power. Of the four houses, the Vessalius and Nightray houses are thought to be exact opposites, like light and dark: the Vessalius house works publicly, while the Nightray house is responsible for working in the shadows. Before the Tragedy of Sablier occurred, the Vessalius family was only a third class noble family, but due to the actions of Jack Vessallius during the Tragedy, they were seen as heroes and later invited to become one of the Great Dukedoms. Pandora (パンドラ Pandora) An organization founded by the four duke houses. It specializes in research regarding the Abyss and has its own military to suit its purposes. Tragedy of Sablier (サブリエの悲劇 Saburie no Higeki) The city of Sablier was once the capital city of the Pandora Hearts universe. However, 100 years ago, in an event know only as the Tragedy of Sablier, much of the city, along with many of its citizens, was swallowed by the Abyss. It was supposedly caused by the Baskerville family. Doors to the Abyss (アヴィスへの扉 Avisu e no Tobira) The Doors are large pathways leading to and from the Abyss. Four of the Doors remain under Pandora's control with each of the Four Dukedoms possessing one key leading to a single door. The Baskervilles control the fifth and final Door that lies in the remains of the former capital, Sablier. Carcere An item used to make a legal contract. Instead of drinking the blood of the chain, the contractor uses a mirror to absorb the blood and form the seal, keeping the seal off the person. If the mirror is broken, the contractor can lose the contract to the chain. It also has a limit on the power that can be used. Baskervilles (バスカヴィル Basukaviru) Humans chosen by the Core of the Abyss to maintain and protect the well-being of the Abyss. The Baskervilles are almost completely immortal, and they all have the natural ability to heal wounds at an incredible speed. They seem to be more chain-like than human as shown by the detrimental effects that the Chain-destroyer, Mad Hatter, can inflict on them. They are led by a Glen, whose command they cannot refuse under any circumstance. None of the Baskervilles are blood-related to each other. Children of Ill Omen (禍罪の子 Maga Tsumi no Ko) Children who are born with red eyes and a deep connection to the Abyss. Before the Tragedy of Sablier, they were thought to attract bad luck and so they were often abandoned or treated harshly by their peers; however, this view seemed to have lessened somewhat after the Tragedy. Children of Misfortune were often born in the proximity with Glens and were regarded as aberrations by the Baskervilles. Consequently, each Glen was tasked with the responsibility of sacrificing his associated Child of Misfortune into the Abyss in order to maintain order within the world. This was later revealed to be a lie spun by the Jurors who were fearful of the Children's ability to bypass their control over their "stories." The three known Children of Misfortune in the series are Vincent Nightray, Xerxes Break and Lacie Baskerville. Jurors Jurors are beings that transcend humanty and are created by the core to record events. They use the Baskervilles as a way to write their story and fear the Childen of Omen as they had the ability to bypass their control and ruin their stories. Media Manga : Main Article : List of Pandora Hearts Chapters Pandora Hearts is written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki and serialized in Square Enix's 00.jpg|Pandora Hearts manga cover Volume 1 Pandora2.jpg|Pandora Hearts manga cover Volume 2 Volume 3.jpg|Pandora Hearts manga cover Volume 3 Pandorah4prev.jpg|Pandora Hearts manga cover Volume 4 Volume 5.jpg|Pandora Hearts manga cover Volume 5 Volume 6.jpg|Pandora Hearts manga cover Volume 6 monthly shōnen magazine GFantasy from June 2006 to April 2015. There are a total of twenty-four Tankōbon. The series was first licensed in English by Broccoli Books but was dropped. It is currently licensed up by Yen Press and was serialized in Yen Plus beginning from the June 2009 issue. Yen Press released the first English volume on December 15, 2009. All volumes have been released in English.[5] In Indonesia, the series was licensed by Elex Media Komputindo, and in France by Ki-oon. Anime : Main Article : List of Pandora Hearts Episodes Under director Takao Kato, studio XEBEC produced an animation with music featured by Yuki Kajiura and themes by Savage Genius and FictionJunction. The series premiered on April 3, 2009 and ran until September 25, 2009, consisting of 25 episodes. The series was broadcast on TBS, BS-TBS, CBC and MBS during its initial run.[12] On February 11, 2010, NIS America announced the licensing of the series in North America, and released English-subtitled DVDs of the anime on October 26, 2010. *There were also nine, 3 minute OVAs, which aired from July 24, 2009 to March 25, 2010. : See: Pandora Hearts Special Episode Other Books Guide Books *The first Pandora Hearts official guide book, Pandora Hearts 8.5: Mine of Mine, was released on March 27, 2009. Oz Vessalius, holding a B-Rabbit plushie, along with Gilbert Nightray are featured on the front cover. *The second official guide book, Pandora Hearts 18.5: Evidence, was released on July 27th, 2012. Oz and Alice are featured on the front cover. *Pandora Hearts 24 + 1: Last Dance is the third and final official guide book, released on June 27, 2015 and featuring Oz, Alice, and Gilbert on the cover. *The The Official Animation Guide for the anime adaption of Pandora Hearts was released on September 26, 2009 Art Books *The artbook, Odds and Ends, featuring sketches and illustrations from volumes 1 to 10, as well illustrations from Mochizuki's previous work, Crimson-Shell, was released on September 26, 2009. *There is. is the second official art book released after the conclusion of Pandora Hearts, containing other illustrations made for the series along with art for Boukyaku no Haou Roland and other GFantasy and Gangan Joker series. The book also features the first two official illustrations for Mochizuki's next series, Vanitas no Carte and was released on June 27, 2015. Novels *The 1st Pandora Hearts novel, Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 1, was released on March 26, 2011. It consists of four stories written by Shinobu Wakamiya and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki. It features Oz and Gilbert on its front cover. *The 2nd novel, Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 2, was released on March 27, 2012. This time it consists of six stories alongside illustrations by Jun Mochizuki. Elliot and Leo are featured on its front cover. *The 3rd novel, Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 3, was released on May 27, 2013. It contains four stories and several colored and non-colored illustrations by Jun Mochizuki. Oswald and Jack Vessalius are featured on the front cover. Audio Soundtracks The first anime opening theme was released as a maxi-single, "Parallel Hearts," on April 29, 2009 under the Victor Entertainment label. The opening theme single performed by FictionJunction included Opening - break and sharon.png|The titlecard of anime opening theme Ending - title revision.png|The titlecard of anime first ending theme "Parallel Hearts" and "Hitomi No Chikara" in both vocal and instrumental versions, with lyrics, compositions and arrangements made by Yuki Kajiura, and peaked at 20th on the Oricon singles charts. The first ending theme "Maze" was released on June 3, 2009 under Victor Entertainment, and peaked at 35th on the Oricon singles chart. The second ending theme is "Watashi wo Mitsukete" by Savage Genius. The first anime album Pandora Hearts Original Soundtracks 1 was released July 8, 2009 under Victor Entertainment and peaked at 104th on the Oricon albums chart. Drama CD A drama CD entitled Pandora Hearts Drama CD was released on December 21, 2007 under the Frontier Works label. Reception Volume 8 of Pandora Hearts was ranked 21st on the Tohan charts between March 24 and 30, 2009, 19th between March 31 and April 6, 2009, and 1st between July 27 and August 2. Trivia *Some of the characters from Crimson-Shell share physical and personality attributes with those in Pandora Hearts. **Les = Echo **Claudia = Alice & Lacie **Ruskin = Oscar Vessalius **Shion = Oz the B-Rabbit, Jack Vessalius & Xerxes Break **Wilhelm = Vincent Nightray, Levi & Xerxes **Baines = Reim Lunettes **Xeno = Gilbert Nightray **Robin = Oz the B-Rabbit (albeit older and with darker hair) **Melissa = Ada Vessalius & Sharon Rainsworth **Victoria = Lottie * Robin and Melissa from Crimson-Shell make a cameo in Retrace X. Navigation Category:Media Category:Manga Category:Pandora Hearts